Student Loans

[talon]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62T1FX20100330

Way back in the Dark Ages, when I went to college (it was $7.00 per hour for graduate students - that's not a typo, it really was $7.00 per hour), student loans were federal loans and the interest rate was capped far below the lending rate for other loans in order to foster greater college attendance.

That's why I was stunned when my children went to college and they were paying interest rates slightly above regular loan interest rates - and that interest money was profit for private banks, not being recycled back into the student loan program and to fund the federal student grants.

These banks got greedy, charging outrageous interest rates and keeping people deeply indebted for decades to repay steep college loans that can't be forgiven in a bankruptcy. Instead of enhancing the lives of the college graduates, it forced some students to drop out of college to start repaying huge loans and it kept others who did graduate in poverty despite earning good money just to repay the loans.

College isn't for everyone, but when those student loans keep people out of college who need to be there, it's wrong.

This is a step in the right direction, to take back control of the student loans.